Scaredy cat

I have been cruising on the inland waterways of the UK since early April. It has been about three years since I did any serious cruising, and a lot longer since I did any river cruising, let alone large rivers or tidal rivers. It therefore came as a bit of a shock to the system when I arrived at the River Trent and I realised how much I had to do to transition into appropriate cruising mode. My wake up call was Stenson lock on the Burton-upon-Trent to Derwent section of the Trent and Mersey canal. This lock is quite difficult, and it only misses deserving the word "Deep" in its name by a few inches - it is 'only' 12'4" deep.

So this is my checklist for a sole cruiser going onto rivers. Not all the items here are needed for every river; rather they form a progression from narrow, canalised rivers; up through larger rivers; large rivers; commercially used large rivers; and tidal rivers. Now the only question is not "Am I paranoid?" but rather "Am I paranoid enough?"

Start wearing life jacket

Start wearing kill switch cord

Ensure that the air klaxon is within arms reach

Rig river line (in my case, a line nearly twice as long as the boat, running from the front of the boat, where it is attached, to the steerer position at the rear)

Ensure that the life ring is within arms reach either inside or outside the boat

Store tv aerial and fittings inside the boat

Rig anchor, anchor line and anchor chain

Store barge poles inside the boat
Register VHF Marine band radio
Check operating procedures for radio and licence restrictions
Use VHF Marine